There have been many types of handheld or table top electronic games over the years. There have been different themes and game play mechanics involved with these games. One type of game play experience that has been popular is one in which the game device announces a command and the player has to respond to the command by pressing a button or physically manipulating a switch. The game continues with the sequence of commands in which the player responds. The input on these games includes an electrical contact which must be physically manipulated relative to the housing of the game device to establish a correct input. The game ends when the player or players cannot respond by manipulating the input in the correct sequence or within a predetermined time limit as instructed by the game device. These game devices are limited in how many different game play experiences can be generated because there are only so many types of physical input devices that can be provided on a handheld device.
Other types of game devices include video game consoles that receive input from cameras or controllers configured to sense motion and from optional physical switch inputs. The players of these game consoles are required to interact with a television or some other display screen to receive instructions and feedback on whether the appropriate inputs are being provided during a game play experience. As a result, additional hardware separate from the game console must be set up and connected to enjoy the game play experiences offered by the video game console. This additional hardware can be expensive, subject to incompatibility with the game console, and subject to failure that prevents a player from using the game console.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a handheld game device and associated method that addresses one or more of the drawbacks of these conventional game devices and consoles.